Personnage 1917

Fernand Léger made this drawing, Personnage, using pencil and colour washes. It’s not clear when exactly it was made but it likely dates from around 1913. Léger was part of the Parisian avant-garde scene, which was in a state of flux and was highly competitive in the years just before the First World War. New exhibition spaces were opening to showcase radical art, challenging the dominance of the French Salon system that had been in place for centuries. Léger, like many other artists, was trying to develop a new visual language to represent the modern age. Notice the geometric shapes, sharp angles and flat planes of colour. He called this style ‘Tubism,’ a variation on Cubism, but with a greater emphasis on pure abstraction. Léger wanted to depict the energy and dynamism of modern life, rejecting traditional forms of representation. The image is not of a person in the traditional sense, but it’s more of a study of form and movement. Understanding its context requires a deeper understanding of the avant-garde art scene in Paris at the time. We can learn about this through exhibition catalogues and artists’ manifestos. Doing so enables us to see how Personnage represents an attempt to develop a new visual language that reflects the social changes that were occurring at the time.